The Game Quantum

The first, most beautiful chain reaction game available on the App Store

[thegamequantum]

New Beginnings

It's been 6 months since we released Quantum (23 April 2016). Feels so long yet so young. We have grown, learned, failed and succeeded. But looking back the only thing that comes to our mind is a sense of pride. 2 boys going against all our cultural and societal upbringings making "games"

To us it was never about this. To us this was our first dent in the universe. Along the journey we made friends, we even made enemies (you know who you are) There are days when we just get 1 download and even that excites us because in the end we know that we gave it our all and that single person is out there enjoying our creation. You know how after every project you sit down and write your mistakes and things you learned and the things that "could" have been better.

Well we did all that but we are still so damn proud of even our mistakes. Does that make us arrogant or passionate? That's up to you to decide. All we can do is promise you that each time we will give it our best. Each time we will spend hours correcting and perfecting the opacity of some orbits which most probably won't even notice.

Why? Because that's what we believe in. And it is this belief that will keep us going.

This will be our last blog here. Not because we are quitting or dying or anything. But because we are moving forward on our belief. Our first dent is out there and now it's time to put a hole.

Quantum will keep moving forward in a new direction. We are also working on a word puzzle game and taking our company in a whole new direction. So if you are one of the few (seriously few) who has followed our journey and would still want. Please head on over to our NEW BLOG.

Thanks for believing in our belief.

Signing off. Pratik and Joseph

[thegamequantum]

Science Stuff

Alright so we wanted to make something about science cause we geek like that. Without apologies. Quantum Physics is one of those weird fields of science where nothing is ‘intuitive’ anymore. and to top it all, its the fundamental building blocks and laws of all matter and physics. so we decided to follow our fascination for all things quirky. 

What we have at the start with the atom. that is the smallest indivisible unit of matter. simplifying greatly, atoms consist of a positively charged nucleus at the sentry and negatively charged electrons revolving around it. Thus the net charge is neutral and stability is maintained. every atom can only handle a certain amount of electrons when it extends beyond that it becomes unstable and throws out the excess electrons.

This is a skewed mechanism of the photoelectric effect discovered by Einstein. what happens in this phenomenon is that existing electrons absorb energy from photons (particles of light) and use this energy to escape their atoms. hence photo = light electric = flow of electrons name.

We’ve twisted this with the matter energy conversion wherein the additional electron sacrifices itself. it gets converted to energy which is absorbed by the rest of the electrons to escape the atoms and go on to capture the surrounding atoms. 

So that is the premise of the game. 

In the quantum space, opposite players occupy empty atoms with their electrons. the players keep adding electrons and when the limit is reached, the electrons burst out. and this is where it gets interesting. when the electrons burst out and if the surrounding atoms are of the opposite player, they get captured! and you only have a limited amount of electrons to begin with. so you have to be careful about how you place your electrons. think of this as a quirky sciencey simplified chess.

Then just to make things even more interesting we have the duality feature. so electrons are particles and waves at the same time. when you use the duality power up, the surrounding electrons of your opponent become waves and escape into the duality vortex. and viola! you get empty atoms to occupy and also have sucked out your opponents electrons. and if you’re smart you might have probably destroyed his whole carefully built strategy.

[thegamequantum]

Why we do it?

Well it's been a long time. I'd said we'd do the science-y part, but I'd like to let my personal ramblings take the better of me and deviate a bit. 

Today instead of talking about what we do I'd like to talk about why we do it in the first place. Why ? (Man, that's meta) Because it defines how long you will keep at it. Because it defines how long you will stick to that vision in your head.

And for us it's simple. We just wanted to make something beautiful. Something good. Something that people would cherish. Something that would make a daughter pester her dad to get her an iPhone so that she can play our game. (God bless her soul) Something that makes a single developer cycle to work every morning, struggle for months, do, redo, overdo, redo, again and again, and again. (Respect, Vijay) Something that just has to be done, cause you it keeps you awake at night. And then your soundtrack eases you to sleep (Thank You Shaun). And most importantly, because two best friends shared a dream. Sometimes they let the dream be bigger than their friendship. Hell, some days they let their dream be their friendship. That's what this first one means to us. This will always be our first little dent in the universe.

You struggle a lot. That's the most cliched thing to say. But sometimes things are a cliche for a reason. And then you struggle some more. It's bad when everyone around you thinks you're wasting your time. It's the worst when that thought starts to emanate from your own self. But then you look at that screenshot, you look at the concept sketches, you think about the hours spent on getting  the hovering of the orbits right, something that few will ever pay attention to. And then you see the guy who's thinking the same god damn thing. What you see in his eyes matches what's there in yours. And you know, you gotta make this happen.

No matter where you go from here, this will always be where it all started. Where it defined you. 

It's an overwhelming feeling. When it strikes you that you actually made something. That you actually created something. The moment that it sinks in, that's a thing of beauty in itself. Few get it. Even fewer cherish it.

So with ideals in our heads, our hearts on our sleeves and beauty in our eyes - we began Quantum. With one thing in mind - everything will be worth it in the end. And you know what? It's only when you're satisfied with the thing in your hand that you look up around you. It's only then that you appreciate the effort that others have put into it to make it so. It's every bit theirs as it is yours. (Ok, not as much) 

If one is coming up with the concept, someone else is actually sitting with developer to get that concept into the screen. If someone is finalizing the color, someone's going up and down to the printers to get that shade right.

The product takes precedence always. Because that is what will be seen in the end, that is what will be judged by everyone else.

But you know what? For us, between the sacred bond that only we and our product share - we will have something that will last a lifetime. Memories. Of each other through Quantum.

[thegamequantum]

We are on Product Hunt

The Game Quantum is on Product Hunt and trending in the games section! A big thank you guys. Its your love and support that keeps us going. 

Please do vote if you haven’t already. You can login in directly from Facebook or twitter, its FREE and takes less than 5 mins. 

Don’t forget to hit the “Upvote” button which is right besides the “Get It” button on top.

https://www.producthunt.com/games/the-game-quantum

[thegamequantum]

Early Concepts

This will just be a short post (I’m slightly pressed for time. I apologize). It was in December 2014 that a cousin (Thank you Celia) first introduced us to a game based on the concept of chain reaction. And we absolutely fell in love with the premise of the game. It was simplified chess for us (I suck at chess). And then it lay dormant at the back of our minds for quite some time.

Fast forward to February 2015. I was giving an entrance examination, and I ended up completing a three hour paper in one and a half. And as usual I started doodling on the back. 30 minutes of adding lead to papyrus, I had inadvertently come up with the brief outline of Quantum. On paper it was just dots with concentric circles around them, but in my cranium my neural network was working at capacity – the chain reaction concept, electrons triggering off the reaction in unstable atoms, nuclei. The foundation was dug.

I immediately contacted Pratik and we raced home after the paper to fill in the hole that was dug. We were on our Mac's till late in the night making grid of dots on an empty art board.

Next afternoon, (We usually don’t see sunlight before 11am) we were again in front of the screen. Originally we were planning on giving characters to all the atoms. The end result was way too messy (a bit creepy too). It went against the whole minimalist principle. So then we went back to the original idea of just dots and built from there.

It was very important for us to get the colors, the visual style absolutely right. This is where my OCD for these sorts of things kicked in. We spent the next 3 days just playing with the opacity of the rings, whether we should put rings at all in the first place, how thick the rings should be, so on and so forth. (Don’t worry we changed the rings at least 17 times after that. More on that later)

So with a reasonable first draft of the visual style, we started thinking on the mechanics of the game, the underlying principle, how it should work and why. This is where the science-y part starts. Stay tuned for the next post..

[thegamequantum]

The making of The Game Quantum

Two weeks back, I (Joseph) and Pratik finished an exciting and an equally exhausting journey. The Game Quantum was finally released in the App Store. Quantum has been our obsession for almost two years now, ecstasy on every little detail done right and infuriating anger when done sub-par.

I feel a tingling sensation in my hands as they glide over the keyboard. These words have to encompass what we have been through these past 2 years. A task I’m absolutely positive I’ll fall short. But as a start, I have just one thing to say – Thank You. Thank you to all of you who showed us your love and support by downloading the game. You’ve calmed our fragile hearts and given us the assurance that these two years of sweat and toil were worth it.

If you’ve been following our blog, we have been posting bits and pieces of our journey till here. But today I want to start afresh, reminisce once again on the conception and making of Quantum. I hope at least some of you out there may find this interesting. So I’ll begin with a quick taster.

The Game is an elegantly designed with minimalist visuals based on the concept of chain reaction (think nuclear reactions!). You have to vanquish your opponents and occupy all their nuclei with the help of your electrons and save Quantum space. Your aim is to eliminate your opponent in a 4x7 grid made of empty atoms.

You keep ‘deploying’ your electrons to these atoms. Each atom can hold different number of electrons. When maximum electrons are reached, the atoms explode and the electrons move to neighboring nuclei. Strategically place your electrons to eliminate your opponent and make Quantum space your own. Use the duality power up in your time of need.

Keep an eye on your record too, every encounter leaves behind a mark. Keep yours clean!

The game features a never seen before online mode that allows players to play up to 6 games simultaneously with dynamic and real-time updates of the player.

You can check out a few screenshots below:

Features:

• Beautiful and addictive turn based game play based on the concept of chain reaction

• Play offline or challenge your friends with Game Center. Compete to become the ultimate Quantum master

• Dynamic and unique real time update of profile stats. Keep a track of every move made, every electron and nuclei won/lost, power ups, win/loss records and more

• Play up to 6 games online simultaneously

• Day and night color themes for an ambient experience

• 8 different color modes in game play to suit your mood

• Use the power of Duality to gain an upper hand over the opponent

• Unique ability of deploying shields to hide your losses

• Test your skills with exciting challenges to unlock the Quantum scientists

• Easy to learn, difficult to master. Outwit your opponents in every move

• Gorgeous minimalist visual design.

• Original music and handcrafted audio for a seamless and immersive experience (headphones recommended!)

• Universal app that works fluidly on iPhone and iPad

The game is built by Pixel Drop – an independent design studio based in India with Pratik Luharuka and myself as the founders. Pratik is the guy who handles everything and actually gets things done – making sure that we have gotten all our designs right, coordinate with the developer, get the press kit done, research day and night how to make Quantum right (as I said before, everything). I’m the one day dreaming of new game concepts, staring at the Sketch art board wondering how many pixels to add to the border or as is the case(for the umpteenth time) what font looks just right.  Basically we’re designers at the heart and we wear that on our sleeves.

The game development was done by our dear friend Vijayakumar from Chennai. The sound was produced by Shaun Kolah based here in Mumbai.

Alright then! Now that the ceremonial stuff is over…

Let’s dive in…

[thegamequantum]

The Game Quantum is now available on the App Store.

Today marks one of the most eventful and nervous days of our lives. Launching the Game Quantum is probably the biggest risk we have ever taken. And definitely the one we are proudest and sensitive about.

So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen:

The Game Quantum is now officially available on the App Store

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-game-quantum/id942076634

This quirky game is free to play for all and contains in-app-purchases should you need them. It is a universal app with Game Center integration for multiplayer support. You can download it once and enjoy it on all your iOS devices (iPod touch, iPhone,iPad).

Currently The Game Quantum is an iOS exclusive and we are working feverishly on getting it to as many platforms as possible. A huge shout out to all our fans for the love they’ve shown us and also the demand for the game on other platforms. We assure you, we are doing our best to get it into as many hands as possible.

For those of you guys covering us, we’d first like to say a big thank you as we are a small indie game design studio and all help is much appreciated.  We’ve put a Press Kit together for your ease. Be sure to check it out.

Do check out our blog post on the reasons and how this game came about. We’ve put our heart and soul in it and we hope you would welcome this little game into yours.

If anyone has any queries or if you just wanna chat with us about the game (or maybe life in general!), please feel free to drop a word at

[email protected]

Hope you love and cherish this game as much as we do,

[thegamequantum]

*drum rolls* 1 Day To Go!

[thegamequantum]

A little sneak peak of our adorable press kits shipping all over the world.  If you’re a journalist looking to try The Game Quantum before it’s available in the App Store, please send us an email at [email protected] or alternatively please visit our Press Kit page – We’d be happy to send you a promo code.

[thegamequantum]

You know when the real Heisenberg comes to town!

[thegamequantum]

The Game Quantum is launching on April 23rd on the App Store.

The day is almost here!

After more than 18 months of hard work, exchanging hundreds of emails, thousands of lines of codes, countless game play revisions and corrections, ecstatic highs and morale crushing lows - The Game Quantum is ready!

Today as we are writing this, hands shaking as it slowly sinks in, as this slowly sinks in; the impossible, the improbable has become a reality. We are here and so is our work as we envisioned for you to enjoy and judge and a promise to keep dreaming and keep delivering.

With just a few more days to go, please hop on to our New Website to learn more about our addictive little game.

If you’re a journalist looking to try The Game Quantum before it’s available in the App Store, please send us an email at [email protected] or alternativly please visit our Press Kit page – We'd be happy to send you a promo code.

Why Quantum?

A lot of people from the very start have been asking us things like: “Why Quantum?”, “Why a competitive strategy game based on science?”

We figured this would be a good platform to shed a little light on why we decided to make Quantum.

It all began 18 months ago. Fresh out of college and bustling with the feverish energy of an idea a day, we decided to start a company. By 'we' we mean Pratik and Joseph: and our company Pixel Drop. We wanted to blend our passion for building apps with our obsession of science & physics and began working on a 2d iOS game based around the concept of 'chain reaction'.

We weren’t satisfied with any of the chain reaction concept games in the App Store. Most of them are complicated, have bad controls, or old designs that don't offer anything new to players

We didn't want a typical mobile game but rather something competitive with a unique look and feel. Games now a days on the App store are fun and exciting at the start but players soon start to lose interest due to lack of replay value. We wanted to give something that would provide hours of fun and entertainment. Something that would hold the interest of the player for a long time in the form of a competitive multiplayer game model. We knew we didn’t want to build a typical mobile experience either – we wanted to create something that was just as enjoyable to look at and listen to as it is to play. Quantum features a never seen before online mode that would allow you to play up to 6 games online simultaneously.

Our journey has been nothing if not perfect. It has groomed us, tamed us and been a great teacher to us. We have experienced the frustration, the self doubts and despair. We have experienced our idea slowly take form, every single day.

There's a little more to the story but perhaps we would save it for future blog posts.

For now we hope you enjoy the addictive and bizarre world of Quantum

Pratik & Joseph

[thegamequantum]

A Higgs-Boson walks into a church this time with Abdus Salam!

[thegamequantum]

The great American Chemist. Gilbert Lewis left us mortal souls March 23, 1946!

[thegamequantum]

Even alcohol can't keep us away from Quantum!

[thegamequantum]

Robert Millikan determined the charge of an electron. He was born March 22, 1868!

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It’s Albert Einstein’s Birthday today!

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As promised here is our first comic panel on the 2 heavy weights: Madame Curie & Henri Becquerel - both worked together on the Half Life.

Tell us your thoughts!